The Columbus Blue Jackets were hoping to sweep the season series from the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. But it was the Oilers’ big guns that stole the show.
On the night the Oilers held a pregame ceremony for Connor McDavid’s 1000 points, he had four assists while Leon Draisatil and Zach Hyman had two goals each pacing the Oilers to a 6-3 win. The Blue Jackets got into penalty trouble again.
Game Recap
The first period started well for the Blue Jackets after coming off an emotional game Tuesday night in Calgary. Just 2:31 into the game, Kevin Labanc scored his second goal of the season. Mikael Pyyhtia’s shot deflected off of Labanc and past Calvin Pickard. Zach Werenski recorded his 19th assist of the season.
The Oilers tied the game midway through the first. Hyman, who missed five games due to injury, scored his first of two on the night. McDavid made a vintage move to open the play up. From that point forward, it was all Oilers.
The Oilers scored four times in the second including three times in 4:31. Draisaitl gave them a 2-1 lead. The Blue Jackets tried to challenge for goalie interference saying Hyman was in the blue. The challenge failed putting the Blue Jackets shorthanded. Mattias Ekholm made them pay to make it 3-1.
Hyman then added his second of the night with a great shot to make it 4-1. Damon Severson was able to get one back to make it 4-2.
Dante Fabbro then clipped Kasperi Kapanen with a high stick to give the Oilers a four-minute power play. While the Blue Jackets killed the double minor, they allowed Jeff Skinner to score with just 1:30 left in the second to make it 5-2.
In the third, the two teams traded goals with Cole Sillinger scoring his fourth of the season to cut it to 5-3. But then Draisaitl added his second goal of the night to get to the final score of 6-3.
Pickard stopped 19 of 22 to earn the win. The Blue Jackets started Daniil Tarasov for the first time in 19 days in a back-to-back situation. He made 31 saves on the night.
The Blue Jackets are right back at it Friday night in Vancouver. Meanwhile, the Oilers continue their long stretch of home games by hosting the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.